Authoress's Note: Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long to update. We had a tornado, blew down several houses, power out for a few days… no, really, we did. Today's the first day with real Internet access, so I decided to be a good girl and post this. I should be making more updates in the summer due to more free time. I'm taking a break right now from cramming for my art final tomorrow and I have to go on the computer later and type up a report on 'Omar Khayyam. So, anyway, I don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!" Oh, and will someone please tell me what's happened in the last few episodes? I kind of… missed them…
Now we dance,
Cold lips moving together.
One chilled with ice,
The other the ice.
One chilled by what isn't to be known,
The other preserved by ice for eternity.
They twirl about,
Two silent-lipped lovers
In a sea of malevolence.
Make it go away.
- from "The White Shadow"
He was there when I opened my eyes.
Not Shadi. Not Midnight.
There were guards, of course, but he was there and he was with me. My veins throbbed under the stress of having a meal so close by, and I thanked the chains for this.
"Father," he said.
"Cerberus," I replied weakly.
I decided to look upon him in that moment. He had changed; obviously many years had gone by in my delirium. How had I survived for so long, chained to a wall, nothing there to support me? Then I remembered the eye, and I felt its power over me, and my conscience was screaming at me and my hunger was howling at me…
He must have been about fourteen or fifteen.
Damn, how long was I hanging off of that wall?
I felt pain when he touched my arms. He pressed himself close to me and looked into my eyes. He had beautiful eyes, and his skin was warm to the touch. He looked a lot like me, but his voice was Midnight's voice, and his skin was too pale. Human, of course – what else would he be? – but he was my son.
When I looked closely at him, I saw the bruises and knife marks up and down his arms. He noticed these, too, and he tried to pull down his sleeves, but it really was too late to do anything about it. It made my blood boil.
"Who did that to you?" I asked him. "Was it Shadi?"
His eyes widened with surprise. "No, it was not Shadi."
"Midnight, then."
"No, Father."
"Then who the Hell did it?" I whispered, half to myself.
His bruised reddish-gold eyes focused on the ground, then moved to the wall slightly to my left. I could feel him tremble, and I understood what had gone on. He was very beautiful, and in a place with these barbarians, of course it could have come to pass.
"The guards," he said, "and some of the guests; Midnight wants Shadi to tell them all to stop, but he won't." His voice was faltering; it was a mixture of a falsetto and his high tenor. "And Shadi sent me down here now. He wanted me to come to you. He wouldn't let Midnight come down. Midnight fought with him for almost an hour and there were loud crashing sounds from the room. I think Midnight broke one of Shadi's favorite vases. He's going to be punished later."
I don't think any news from Shadi could be worse than learning that my son was forced to sleep around and make people happy.
When I am hungry, I get really cranky. Because I had not had any form of nourishment for nine years, I was feeling murderous. There were three things going through my mind at that moment:
1. What does Shadi want from me? Hasn't he done enough?
2. They will pay for raping my son.
3. Someone is going to die.
Might as well get my question out of the way… "What does Shadi want?"
"I don't know. I heard some stuff in the other room, but I will not say it. He doesn't like it when I tell people too much. He wants to see you. He sent me down to get you out, and he says that someone will have to die. He told me to run once they unlock you."
"Why didn't you do it while I was asleep?"
"I haven't spoken to you in nine years, Father."
"Let the guards in to let me out," I told him, "and run as fast as you can. I don't trust myself alone with you at the moment."
He nodded. "I know what Midnight did to you."
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Of course I'm afraid, but what's the point?"
If I hadn't been so weak, I could have saved us from this fate.
You are afraid…
Of course I'm afraid!
You never listen to me, Pegasus. I'm your conscience, the thing that sits on your shoulder and tells you the difference between right and wrong. Fear destroys; it doesn't protect. I think you should listen to your son.
Cerberus was not there when I finally came to. I felt the keys click as the guards released me, and they both tried to back away. I wasn't aware of what happened; one of them was dead in my arms and there was blood on my lips.
I dropped him and stood. The wounds on my wrists where the jagged metals had pierced my skin had disappeared; pale white scars would serve as a reminder of what pain is and how when you are completely zoned out, time can pass by quickly. I know it sounds stupid; just think of it as a souvenir that I really don't want.
A conscience is a stupid, feeble thing to have. It won't get you anywhere in the world.
Whatever…
Leave me alone.